'We can no longer afford a mayor who has been divisive,' Ald. Bob Fioretti says

As he sat recently on a stage under bright lights waiting to do a television interview, Ald. Bob Fioretti tugged on his necktie, the knot neatly propped up by a tie bar under his collar. He adjusted his earpiece, and a producer asked him if he was ready.

"I'm not just ready," he responded, "I'm Fioretti."

Now the 2nd Ward alderman, who has spent the past three years as Rahm Emanuel's harshest and most frequent City Council critic, is ready to announce Saturday that he will challenge the mayor in the Feb. 24 city election.

"I've made the decision I'm going to run for mayor of this city," Fioretti told the Tribune. "We can no longer afford a mayor who has been divisive, who has turned his back on a lot of our communities. We need someone who can unite and realize the struggles of our people."

Fioretti becomes the first major challenger to Emanuel, with Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis continuing to "seriously consider" a run. While Fioretti and Lewis could split the anti-Emanuel vote if they both get on the ballot, the alderman said he's in the campaign for "the long haul."

The perpetually tan 61-year-old attorney, who has not a stray gray hair among his honey-colored locks, stands out as one of just a handful of aldermen willing to publicly disagree with Emanuel.

Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune

Ald. Bob Fioretti, 2nd

Ald. Bob Fioretti, 2nd (Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune)

Fioretti has railed against Emanuel's school closings, called for more police on the street and backed an elected school board that would strip control of Chicago Public Schools from the mayor's office. The alderman has favored new taxes, including a commuter tax, to boost the city's sagging finances. And he's suggested phasing out Chicago's controversial red light cameras.

Fioretti's road to City Hall's fifth floor is long and steep. A Tribune poll last month found the vast majority of voters had no opinion of Fioretti, reflecting that he has minimal name recognition outside his ward.

He'll need plenty of campaign cash to air TV ads to change that, but Fioretti reported just $326,000 in his political fund through June 30 and has raised at least $23,000 more since then. Emanuel had $8.3 million, and a super political action committee aligned with the mayor has an additional $1.3 million.

While Emanuel has a natural base among more affluent North Side voters dating to his time representing the area in Congress, Fioretti's go-to voting bloc is less evident.

"He has to find his voice and a natural constituency, unlike someone like Karen Lewis who at least has her union members as a natural constituent base," said Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st. "I don't know quite where Bob's base is. Good luck to him."

Others were more blunt.

"I think he has no shot. None," said 1st Ward Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno, who sits next to Fioretti in the council chamber. "It's delusions of grandeur."

Asked where his political base is, Fioretti replies, "That's an interesting question," and pauses.

"It's all over, and when I say all over, I mean all over the city," he said. "I've learned a lot from my ward, but I've been all over the city. I'm a product of this city, I was born in this city, grew up in this city, used the parks in this city. I was a member of the Roseland Little League in this city."

Fioretti grew up in the Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side and said he returned there as a young adult before moving to a North Side condo on Lake Shore Drive and later to the 2nd Ward, which encompasses the South Loop and neighborhoods on the Near West Side.

As a lawyer, Fioretti worked as a city attorney. Later, in private practice, he won a $9 million settlement in a wrongful conviction case against the city representing LaFonso Rollins, who spent 11 years in prison for rape before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2004.

In 2007, Fioretti dethroned veteran Ald. Madeline Haithcock in a ward that went from 65 percent African-American and 21 percent white in 2000 to evenly split at 40 percent black and 40 percent white in 2010, according to census figures. The change was driven by the rapid development of the South Loop.

The freshman alderman clashed with then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. Fioretti mulled a run for mayor but was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in 2010 and opted to run for re-election instead.

When aldermen redrew the 50 ward boundaries a couple of years ago, Fioretti did not receive the same political protection of many of his colleagues. The 2nd Ward was splintered into several others as part of the new City Council map that goes into effect next year, leaving Fioretti looking for a new home if he ran for re-election as alderman.

Ald. Scott Waguespack, a council ally, said he believed Fioretti will appeal to many racial and geographic voting blocs, adding that he thinks "it's great he's going for it."

Fioretti's political base is centered in the black community, said Waguespack, 32nd. "And I think a lot of people on the North Side who have been disappointed with the direction the city has gone would look to him as a viable candidate," he added.

The Tribune poll last month found Lewis leading Emanuel in a potential matchup 43 percent to 39 percent, just outside the survey's 3.5 percentage-point margin of error. Emanuel held the advantage over Fioretti 43 percent to 26 percent.

Given that 4 out of 5 surveyed had no opinion of him, the 26 percent Fioretti scored was a sign of a solid anyone-but-Emanuel contingent. The poll also found the mayor's job approval rating at just 35 percent, with a majority of voters unhappy with Emanuel's performance on crime and education.

Fioretti plans to make those issues cornerstones of his campaign. He's also sought to paint Emanuel as out of touch with regular Chicagoans and unwilling to listen to their concerns.

As he gets ready to take on Emanuel, Fioretti said his health is good, his cancer is gone and he's not intimidated by the prospect of the mayor using some of his millions in campaign cash against him.

"He'll run his attack ads," Fioretti said. "I know I've made decisions in my life that people may not like, that cast me in a negative light, but my life is an open book. Google me up."